Powers That Be
by Aramanth
Summary: Sarah begs for helps during a fight for her life, and the Labyrinth intervenes to save Her champion. Sarah and Jareth are thrust headfirst into an adventure that will bring them closer to their destiny by the powers that be.
1. The Call

A/N: So this is my first ever story, so any response you want to leave please leave, I don't care what it is! All types of feedback are welcome and again, I've never done this before. This was beta'd by my best friend whom this was actually written for, so enjoy! ~Ara

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The Call

Sarah ran as fast as she could down the alley, praying that the men after her would overlook the badly lit opening between two seedy apartment buildings. She heard them yelling at each other and shoving their way into the narrow entryway. Cursing, she turned sharply to the right, following the curve of the alley straight into a brick wall. Frantically she spun around to see the outlines of her attackers in front of her. She looked around, praying for a previously overlooked entry to an escape route, and had to remind herself sharply that this was the real world. '_No impossible Labyrinth here for you to solve, Sarah-girl. Just men with knives who are most definitely going to kill you!_' Sarah pressed herself into the wall at her back hoping that they had possibly missed her in the darkness.

"Well, well, look what we have here. A little mouse, all by herself. Don't you know it's dangerous to be out in the dark alone little mousey?" The man, obviously the leader of this group, walked slowly towards her, a knife glinting in the faint light of the alley. His men spread out behind him, blocking off her only way out toward freedom.

'_Shit. Shit, shit shit shit,_' she thought, body dropping into a loose defensive position. '_Fight them off, Sarah. Don't let them get you._' A man toward the back turned on a camping lantern, joking to a companion that they would want to be able to see what they were going to do to her. She really started panicking when she saw that there were more of them than she had realized, five of them, all armed and leering at her with sadistic lust visible in their expressions. '_Damn, why didn't I take the ride home Karen offered me?_' Sarah rarely regretted turning down her step-mothers offers, but right now she would most definitely prefer spending time with the nagging woman. She tensed and tried to run as the leader closed in on her, attempting to use her smaller size to slip under the others and escape. It was useless. They grabbed a hold of her and held her struggling form still.

"Hey Michael, this was your idea, so you get first choice. What do we do with her?" The man with a vicious grip on her hair asked of the one who had first approached her. Michael, as the man was obviously called, turned and looked her up and down. He smiled slowly and sauntered over, the smile only getting wider as Sarah doubled her attempts to get away. She was immensely disturbed by his smile, as it promised more entertainment for him than she wanted to be part of. He leaned down and casually cut off her cotton sweatshirt.

"Can't do anything 'til we know what we have to play with now can we?" He looked up and down her body again, eyes lighting up as he saw that she was only wearing a sports bra under the now ruined sweatshirt. Michael nodded briefly at the man holding her hair and Sarah whimpered when a knife appeared at her throat. Michael smiled savagely when another pressed a hand over her mouth. "We can't have you shouting for help now can we, little mouse?" In one quick swipe he cut off her bra, purposely slicing into her flesh at the same time. All of the men laughed as her body arched in pain and she screamed into the hand over her mouth. Her scream was cut off abruptly by the blade at her neck pressing into her skin, a small trickle of blood running down to mix with the mess of it on her chest.

'_Oh god no. Oh god oh god oh god._' Sarah's thought frantically as she tried to kick Michael from his position between her forcibly spread jean clad legs. She bit the hand over her mouth and when it was yanked away with a yell, she screamed as loud as she could. "SOMEONE HELP ME PLEASE SOMEO-" She was cut off as the one she bit slapped her hard, causing her to see stars and for the knife at her neck to bite in deeper. The hand was roughly placed back over her mouth and Michael laughed, amused.

"I think you just pissed him off, little mousey. After I'm done with you I'll let him go next." He unbuckled her belt and undid her jeans, and she whimpered as they were roughly pulled down her legs by hands that seemed unattached to bodies. She suddenly thought of the helping hands and the Labyrinth, and how she would likely never see either again, just as she would never see her parents again, or Toby. She conquered a Labyrinth and a King for him, and now she was going to die in an alley, far away from him, and home.

'_No,_ please,' she thought_ 'I don't want to die. Not without going back, not without winning again! Jareth, I hope you're fucking happy! This is your fault!__' _She screamed as a sudden line of fire cut across her leg, her pain and fear muffled as her underwear was cut off, blood dripping down onto the ground. She sobbed in fear, crying out in her mind for help, any help at all. The hands holding her suddenly let go, and she choked as blood spurted from her wounds as she hit the ground. There was a flash of blinding light above her, and then everything was black.


	2. The Answer

A/N: And here is chapter two! The rest of the chapters should be longer, and as such will take me more than a day to put out. I did this in class today, so I apologize in advance if it seems a bit rushed or choppy. The chapter was beta'd by FavaBeansAndANiceChianti, my best friend and the person this was originally written for, so she should get most of the credit for putting up with me. Enjoy! ~Ara

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The Answer

Jareth was not in a good mood. He stalked through the halls of his castle, terrorizing any goblin unlucky enough to get in his way. He had four runners in the Labyrinth at the same time, and had the difficult task of making sure they never ran into one another while ensuring that they either gave up or were unable to continue before their time ran out. This however, was not why Jareth was feeling so murderous. He was not able to pinpoint the exact cause of his current mood, but was ready to demolish his goddamn castle if it meant that stupid goblin would get there quicker. It was the one his Champion befriended, Hogwart, or Hogwash or something. Jareth snarled as the goblin sauntered into the throne room like he owned the place. The damned thing had been unbearably smug since it became known that he helped the Champion defeat the Labyrinth. The Goblin King straightened in his throne, a malicious smirk forming on his face.

"Hogwart. You lazy, worthless, SPINELESS scum. There are four runners in MY Labyrinth getting ever closer to MY castle, and YOU. LET. THEM. IN. Enlighten me on why you thought this was a good idea, especially after what happened that LAST TIME YOU DID!" Jareth roared the last few words at the now cowering goblin, sadistically pleased when he couldn't find any way coherent way to respond.

"King Jareth I-I-I... But th-th-th-they-" He cringed as Jareth gracefully pulled himself up to his full height and towered over Hoggle. A crystal ball appeared in Jareth's hands and Hoggle whimpered. He was going to be bogged, he knew it!

"They what Hogwash? Warmed the cockles of your heart? One more mistake like this and I will move that pathetic hovel you call a house into the bog, you along with it. However..." Jareth flipped the crystal he had in his hands to show the four runners deep within the Labyrinth. He barely withheld a grimace as the goblin's hideous face lit up with a pathetic imitation of hope. "IF you can somehow manage to direct all four of these fools into the darkest, dankest, dampest, deepest oubliettes within the next five hours, you will be spared." Jareth held himself back from rolling his eyes as the goblin rushed out of the room. '_Piece of cake._' He thought victoriously. That had him sitting down abruptly. He had never used his Champion's favorite phrase before, so to use it now, on the anniversary of his defeat was startling. '_Ahhh. That would explain my mood,_' He thought. Just remembering her smug words had his blood boiling in fury. He sat on his throne for several hours lost in thought, and looked up sharply when he heard the door creak open.

"Ah, Hogwart. You have succeeded then? And oh my, you are within your time limit. I must admit myself surprised. Here I was expecting you to fail. Although, if I had told you to poison them with a peach you would have, isn't that so?" Jareth smirked as the goblin flushed, obviously reminded of his betrayal to the Champion. "Get out of my sight or I WILL bog you." Hoggle rushed away as fast as his legs could carry him, determined to check on his house and make sure it was still where he last saw it.

Jareth slumped back against one of the arms of his throne, casually slinging his legs up over the other. He stared into his crystal and looked on with satisfaction as all four runners gave up almost simultaneously. After sending them back Aboveground he turned to his captives. Two babies, a teenage boy, and a young girl. All four were huddled together, both babies held by the girl, all three held protectively by the young man. The babies were in an enchanted sleep, as they were both under a year old and he did not want to have to deal with their crying. Jareth crouched down next to them and smiled, a much softer smile than the runners or goblins ever saw.

"Are-are you going to kill us?" The girl asked timidly, fear evident in her big blue eyes. Jareth gently shook his head, internally wondering when he became so soft toward children. He realized it was probably about the same time that his Champion stole his heart and rejected him all at once. He opened his mouth to comfort the little one, and scowled when he felt a tug from the Labyrinth.

"I will return. Stay here until I do." He tossed a crystal next to the children, conjuring food and blankets. He turned towards the eldest, who was still holding the younger children to him. "They are your responsibility now. Those who wished you away did not have the willpower to make it here. You will be citizens of my kingdom, and can choose what you wish to do with the rest of your lives." He turned and forced himself to walk away as the girl started crying, the Labyrinth was insisting that he answer the call waiting for him. Jareth strode out of his castle and changed, winging away to the Aboveground. He hovered for a moment, finding the source of the summons and swooping down into a sparsely lit alleyway.

His annoyance at being summoned for the fifth time in one day immediately turned to rage as he looked upon the sight before him. A group of young men were holding down a struggling, bleeding girl whom they had obviously attacked and hurt. He snarled and the men turned in shock to see him standing in an area they had blocked off from any unwanted visitors. They dropped the girl and advanced on Jareth, obviously eager for more blood to be spilled. He let out a bright flash of light and while they were groping about blindly he hit them all with crystals to send them deep into the Labyrinth where the more lethal traps lay in wait. He then turned to the girl and noticed that she was not moving, which was worrying to the Goblin King. He stripped off his cloak and covered her with it before picking her up. He disappeared in another flash of light and reappeared in his throne room, where he was greeted by the shrieks of terrified children, who had never seen someone suddenly appear and were now hiding behind one another, the babies wailing. He blocked them out as he laid the young woman down on the floor, and froze as he brushed her hair out of her face. "SARAH?"


	3. The Consequence

A/N: Sorry this took so long! I wrote chapters three and four at the same time so I got a bit more frustrated and distracted than with the first two. Anyway, enjoy! ~Ara

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The Consequence

Jareth cursed loudly, spinning around and shoving his way through the closed door. He shouted for the fae healers and raced back to his Champion's side. He realized now that this was the reason the Labyrinth had been so unusually insistent on him answering the call. The relationship between Champion and Labyrinth was too complex for even him to understand. The fae healers raced into the room, moving quickly to seal up her wounds and stop any infections from setting in. Jareth was grateful for the no-nonsense approach of the healers, and left her in their capable hands. He turned to the four children in the corner of the room and crouched down to be on their level.

"Is she okay? Who is she?"

"Is she your friend? Are we in danger?"

Jareth held up his hand, stopping the two from talking over each other. "She is the Champion of the Labyrinth, the only one to ever make it to my castle and rescue the one she wished away within the time limit. She was attacked Aboveground, in your former world. We are in no danger from her attackers, as the Labyrinth is… Dealing with them." The boy recognized the grim look on Jareth's face and put his hand on the girl's arm to stop her from asking a more direct question. Jareth gave him an approving nod and took all four of them in. "As you are to stay in my kingdom now, I will need to know your names. The babes will have to be given names as we cannot ask their former families. If you would, I also know that the Champion will want to hear why you are here, as do I."

The boy looked up. "I'm Grayson. My mom was drunk… I don't think she knew what she was doing. This was supposed to be an old bedtime story! She used to read it to me to get me to behave." He looked down and took a deep breath. "I'm 16, if that helps in any way." Jareth looked at him, eyes moving over his exhausted face to how carefully he was holding the girl and babies against him. The little girl looked up at him bravely, blue eyes wide and trusting despite the circumstances.

"I'm Sage. My daddy said that was my mom's favorite plant, which is why he named me that. Are we in heaven? Do we get to meet angels? Are you an angel?" Jareth felt his supposedly iron heart melt as the little girl talked. Her innocence was pure and bright and not something he was used to having directed at him. "I'm six and daddy says that mommy became an angel after I was born. Is she here? Do you know her? Daddy wished me here to play. Is he here too?" Grayson and Jareth looked at each other in a moment of pure helplessness and heartbreaking understanding.

"This isn't heaven child. This is the Goblin Kingdom. We are in a different realm than the one you were born in, and I'm afraid your mother and father are not here." Jareth stood up, glancing behind him to see the healers wrapping his Champion's wounds up. He turned back to the children still huddled on the floor. "Come now, we must find you rooms to claim as your own. You will be living here from now on, and as such must be well taken care of." He pulled the children up and walked them out of the room, careful to stay in between them and the still, bloody form of his Champion. He took them down a long hallway to a nondescript door and pushed it open, revealing the silhouetted form of what seemed to be a young man in a very cluttered study. The man looked up, startled, and smiled when he saw who had disturbed him.

"Your Majesty! Are these your newest subjects?" The man moved away from the desk and stepped into the doorway. Grayson and Sage were startled to realize that he had pointed ears and yellow eyes. "Hello there young ones. I am Fáelán, King Jareth's assistant and guard. I will show you to the rooms that are available, if you would like to come with me." He held out his hand in invitation, and his mouth crooked up into a small smile as Sage passed the baby she was obviously struggling to carry to Grayson. She turned back to him very seriously, and took his hand, pulling him down to her height.

"I'm Sage. I'm six. Why do you have pointy ears? Your eyes look like a doggy or wolfy. Are you a werewolf? Daddy said werewolves didn't exist but I think he's wrong." Fáelán blinked, struggling to keep up with the barrage of questions. She had a very serious look on her face, and he glanced up at his King to see the normally venomous fae fighting to hide a smile. Looking back at the expectant girl, he took a breath and prepared himself.

"No little one, I am not a werewolf. I am a fae, just like King Jareth here, except that I am an elf where he is pure fae. My eyes look like a wolf because all elves have eyes similar to animals, and that is why my name means young wolf. I do not know if werewolves are real, so I cannot say if your father was wrong or not. Now, would you like to pick out a room? The babes need to be woken up and I am sure that they are going to be hungry when they wake." He stood up, keeping Sage's hand securely within his grasp, and led the small group down the hall.

Jareth sagged against the doorframe briefly before turning and walking back to the throne room. He was about to enter the room when one of the healers called for him from across the castle. Curious and slightly worried, he followed the call into the Champion's Chambers, where Sarah lay unconscious on the large bed. The one who called him stepped forward. It was the Head Healer, an ancient female elf that Jareth was not afraid to admit could kick his ass from one side of the castle to the other. She had been here since he was a child and newly crowned, and would most likely still be here long after he was gone. She smiled faintly at her King, ushering him over to the chair placed next to the bed. She had never spoken a word in the many years he had known her, and continued to be stubbornly silent even though he had a mountain of questions for her. So instead of pestering her like he so desperately wanted to, he sat down and dropped his arms onto the bed. He turned to one of the other healers in the room, who was disposing of his Champion's bloody and torn clothes. "How are her wounds?" The fae tossed the clothes down the incinerator before trudging over to his King, bowing sharply.

"It was very close. The wound on her leg nicked an artery and she was bleeding out. Had you not gotten her to us when you did, we would not have been able to save her. We closed everything up and applied the healing paste, so she should be healed within a week, as long as her Aboveground physiology does not cause any unexpected side effects. She will need to be on bed rest for a week after that to be certain. However-" The young fae took a deep breath, and a haunted look entered his eyes. "She is not empathic or telepathic like the fae races, so her mind will be much harder to heal. Honestly, I am not sure if it is possible. She may be forced to live with the mental and emotional effects of this until the day she dies."

Jareth growled. This was unacceptable for his Champion. "She is the Labyrinth's Champion. You WILL do everything you can to make sure she is well in EVERY form of herself. That is a direct order." The young fae paled and bowed again, much deeper than before. "Good. Now leave us, all of you. I will call for you when she wakes, Head Healer." The various fae bowed and filed out, the door shutting behind them. Jareth sighed and settled back in his chair, getting comfortable for a long wait. A voice at the back of his mind reminded him that _if_ she woke up, she would not be happy with him, and would probably blame him for this mess. He shoved that voice to the side. She _would_ wake up, and if she was angry with him, then he would rather his Champion be alive and angry than comatose and silent.


	4. The Children

A/N: So you get two chapters at once! Yay! I'm going to try to start putting out a new chapter every week, so if you have any ideas for how Sarah reacts to the situation send me a review please! Also let me know what you think of the OC's. Thanks and enjoy! ~Ara

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The Children

Fáelán led the children down an opulent hall. "The babes will stay here in this room." He opened a door to reveal a partially full nursery, with goblin and fae mothers playing with their children. "Good afternoon ladies. We have two new little ones for you. They will need families and names." The small group was pulled into the room; a delicate goblin taking charge of the baby girl as an obviously pregnant fae cradled the boy.

The goblin looked at the two older children. "Would you like to help us name them? They will need siblings to show them around one day." Sage giggled, excited, and pulled Grayson over to sit with her next to the two mothers.

"Hi! I'm Sage! I think the girl should be named Rainbow and the boy should be named Ashes! That's what I named my fishes. Grayson, you think those are good, right?" Grayson winced and shook his head. The fae mother smiled gently and stroked both babies' cheeks, cooing softly to wake them from the enchanted sleep, smiling as the boy opened his gray eyes. The baby girl whimpered, opening her eyes to the gasps of the others. One eye was a brilliant gold, the other a deep purple. Sage smiled proudly. "See? Rainbow and Ashes! I TOLD you!"

Grayson caught the sharp look that the mothers gave to Fáelán, but stored it away for later examination as he looked down at the determined form of Sage. "What about Iris and Asher? Iris means rainbow, and the flower is normally purple and yellow, like her eyes. Asher is almost ashes, just with a different letter. Would that be okay?" He prayed silently as Sage deliberated, an intense look of concentration on her face. He nearly sagged with relief when she smiled and nodded, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you! I love them!" He wasn't sure if she meant the names or the babies themselves, but he would take it. She turned back to the two mothers and immediately started asking questions about their children and families, settling herself down in Grayson's lap to be closer to them. He looked down at her in surprise and glanced at the mothers to see them smiling at him in amusement.

Grayson jumped when a hand tapped his shoulder, and he looked up to see Fáelán looking at him expectantly. '_Right,_' he thought, '_we were looking at rooms. Because we're not going home. Ever. Okay._' He stood up and took the hand of a reluctant Sage, leading her out of the room after the elf. She walked backwards to keep looking at Iris and Asher until she bumped into the doorframe, at which Grayson firmly turned her around. "We have to find rooms for us now, Sage. We can come back and see them later, okay?" He looked at her sternly until she nodded. Fáelán led them down the hall to the first unclaimed room.

"This is the closest room to the nursery, and I figured you might like it little one." Sage looked around the room in awe. There were bright colors everywhere, and lots of pillows and blankets thrown about. There was even a whole corner devoted to fabric, building blocks, and coloring supplies. Sage looked up at Fáelán, eyes wide.

"This is what I've always wanted my room to be! How did you know? It's perfect I love it thank you thank you thank you!" She attached herself to Fáelán's legs, hugging them as tightly as she could.

He looked down at her, eyebrows rising. "The castle is part of the Labyrinth. I would imagine She looked into your mind and made a room that would fit your needs and wants perfectly. I have a feeling that if you stay in the castle for a long time, your room will always meet your needs, no matter how they change." Seeing the blank look in the girl's eyes, he sighed and attempted to make his explanation understandable to a six year old. "The big maze outside is alive. She is a she and She can think. Her name is the Labyrinth, and She can read minds. The castle is part of her body and She wants you to be happy so she made a room that makes you happy."

"Oohhh," Sage said, getting it. "Well why didn't you say that in the first place? I'm not dumb, I finished kindergarten!" She turned and flounced down the hall a bit. "Well? We need to find a room for Grayson."

Both males looked at each other with wide eyes before following the spitfire of a girl down the hall. Grayson stopped suddenly in front of an unmarked door. He pushed it open and gasped. Inside was a large room, a full bed shoved into one corner next to a simple desk. The rest of the room was filled from floor to ceiling with over stuffed bookshelves. Books of all kinds were everywhere; on the floor, desk, and even some on the bed.

"This-this-" Grayson stuttered. "This is PERFECT!" He slowly walked into the room as if in a trance, and looked around in stupefied wonder. "Mine. This is mine." He looked back as he heard giggles coming from the door, and started when he realized that the other two were still there. "Oh, sorry. I just-"

Fáelán laughed. "It is perfectly all right. Most have the same reaction when they find their room." He smiled softly. "I know I certainly did." He held up his hand to stop any potential questions, mainly from a little blue eyed girl. "That will be a story for another time. However, if you have any other questions, I would be happy to answer those."

Grayson cleared his throat. "Um, actually I have one. If this is the goblin kingdom, why are there so many fae around?" Fáelán looked at him in surprise, startled that a mortal, let alone a child, would notice this enough to be curious about it even after going through what he had.

"The fae here are the servants of King Jareth's family. We have not been here for all that long, just the last few centuries. However, as time passes differently between the two realms, only seven or so years have passed Aboveground since we came here. It is tradition after a Kingdom gains a champion." Grayson nodded in understanding. He had read some books about medieval traditions and laws, and that sounded similar to some of the more archaic laws.

"The Champion is that woman who appeared in the throne room with King Jareth, right? Will she be okay?" Grayson was worried. He had seen how much blood was on her and her clothes and didn't think anyone could survive that long without some sort of blood transfusion.

"The healers are with her. They will make sure that she is well as soon as possible. Our medicine is far more powerful than what you are used to, so you need not worry. Now, let us get you some food. You must be hungry." Grayson nodded absently and followed the elf and girl down the hall, looking back one last time at the plain door that marked his new sanctuary before turning a corner into the biggest room he had ever seen.

"HOW IS THIS A KITCHEN?!"


	5. The Doubt

A/N: Just giving you guys a small sample of the next chapter. I was trying to get it out earlier and then everything went to hell with my family and school so I've had about the last 20 minutes to write in the past two weeks. Also I'm trying to find a beta so this will probably seem choppy and for that I apologize. Anyway, hope you enjoy the tidbit! ~Ara

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The Doubt

Fáelán looked back at Grayson in surprise. "Are the kitchens Aboveground that different from what we have here? They Labyrinth makes every room to fit the needs of those who enter. Is this not what you need? There is food and drink available, with plenty of space to sit." Grayson stood stock still in the doorway, eyes bulging out of his head, mouth gaping as he took in the massive stoves, pantries, and a door clearly marked **MEAT ROOM.** What had his head spinning was the fact that the island in the middle of the room had been replaced with a low table large enough to sit at least one hundred people, when it was not being used as extra counter space like it was at the current moment by the dozens of busy goblin chefs. The area next to the massive table was piled high with ingredients, and the smells wafting through the room made his mouth water. The room was twice the size of the house that he had lived in for his entire life up until this point, and he was slowly convincing himself that this was a dream.

'_There's no way this is real,_' he thought. '_I'm dreaming. This is all some horrible dream. I'm gonna wake up and be home, and Mom will be there apologizing like normal._' Grayson backed up slowly and waited until Fáelán was distracted by Sage running around the busy goblins before he turned and ran. He ran down the hall past the door that he had claimed as his and desperately tried to find a way out, a way to prove to himself that this wasn't real. He ignored the voices shouting behind him and yelled in surprise and terror as he was tackled from behind and pinned to the floor. "Let me go! I want to go home! Please… I just…. I wanna go home…" He felt tears start to drip down his face and could hear the cracks in his voice but was too upset to care. He felt small hands touch his head and he broke down completely, sobbing messily into the stone floor.


End file.
